Igor Stimac wishes new Indian team head coach Manolo Marquez 'best of luck'

The Croatian head coach was sacked after a disappointing FIFA World Cup Qualifiers campaign

FC Goa head coach Manolo Marquez has been announced as the new head coach of the Indian football team. He replaced Croatia’s Igor Stimac after AIFF evaluated 291 applicants and shortlisted 17 of them to select the best finally.

Today, the former coach of the Blue Tigers, Igor Stimac wrote a heartfelt note with some words of advice on “X” for the newly-appointed man from Spain. The former addressed his successor with a “Dear” to start his message and congratulated the latter on getting the responsibility.

Igor Stimac’s wish

Stimac further advised in his short message that the “journey won’t be easy.” The Croat further expressed belief in his successor, claiming that Manolo Marquez is the best-suited for the job of carrying the Blue Tigers ahead and the Spaniard’s experience speaks for him. He even referred to the former ISL-winning coach as his ‘friend.’

Dear Manolo,Congratulations on being named the new India head coach 🇮🇳The journey won’t be easy, but your experience with Indian players speaks for itself and you are best suited to take the Blue Tigers to the next level!Good luck my friend 💙🙏🏼 pic.twitter.com/CAkEtffZnN

— Igor Štimac (@stimac_igor) July 22, 2024

Igor Stimac had been at the helm of the Indian football team since 2019 and had a mixed time in-charge. He guided the Blue Tigers to four major trophies, two SAFF Championships, one Intercontinental Cup and a Tri-Nation Series. 

However, his recent poor spell with the Blue Tigers at the coveted AFC Asian Cup and FIFA World Cup Qualifiers resulted in him getting sacked. Now, after his departure, the AIFF has appointed Manolo Marquez to take charge.

Marquez will continue to coach FC Goa while performing his new responsibility as Team India’s head coach. It would be interesting to see how the Barcelona-born coach would infuse his style of play into the new Team India, which he needs to build from scratch. The side are currently at 124 in the FIFA rankings. 

The side will also be missing their captain Sunil Chhetri who bid adieu to the Blue Tigers after 19 long years. Marquez will first play a tri-series in India in September this year.

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